He married Nancy Graham, the daughter of Francis Graham and Mary _____.2 His is likely the John Ballard who on 12 October 1782 purchased from Wm. Jarman & Sarah, his wife for £50, 200 acres on Rock Creek in Albemarle County, bounded by lines of Wm. Keaton, dec’d; Wm. Keaton, Wm. Thompson, and perhaps it was he who purchased 150 acres in Albemarle county from William Keaton on 26 December 1785.3 If so, he relocated to Kershaw District, South Carolina where he and a number of other persons purchased land there in 1799.4

Will of John Ballard, dated 21 August 1838, proved 12 January 1839.

In the name of God, amen, I John Ballard, of the State of South Carolina and the District of Kershaw, being of sound mind and memory do make and ordain this my last will and testament.

It is my wish and desire that all my just debts be paid. That my executors sell all my Estate of what nature soever, collect my debt, divide and settle the same as herein directed.

I give the children of my daughter Terza one tenth of my Estate after my debts are paid.

And I also give my daughter Mahala one tenth of my Estate after my debts are paid which I wish my executors will settle upon her in such a manner as to prevent her husband, Douglas Graham, from spending.

And lastly, I do appoint my trusty friends William Russell, William Fletcher, Jesse Kilgore and James Dunlap my executors to this my last will and testament on this the twenty-first of August, one thousand eight hundred and thirty eight. Read and signed and sealed in the presence of us: John P. Sarter, William Kelly, and Thomas Bowker. [Signed] John Ballard.

Given the treatment of the last two named daughters, Terza and Mahala, this may indicate that he had more than one wife. Much more research is needed. Nevertheless, his children were:

4. 1 July 1799, Deed from James Trantham to George Graham, $110, 240 acres, Beaver Creek, granted to Joseph McAdams by Excellency Edward Rutledge … John McLure, John Ballard, Andrew Graham, James Shropshire, William Beachs. Wit: John Fletcher, George Martin Trantham. Kershaw District S.C. Deed Book F, pp. 23-24. Also 23 April 1803, John Ballard, wife Nancy to Andrew Graham and James Trantham, £125, part of a parcel of land granted to James Miller by Lord Charles G. Montague on the 19th day of November 1772, late the property of Frances Graham, situated on the main branch of Beaver Creek. Kershaw District S.C. Deed Book D, p. 145.

Like this:

1. Nancy Graham Ballard has already passed away. She is not mentioned anywhere in the Will.

2. Terza ‘Ballard’ (UNKNOWN Married Name) is grown but has passed away prior to August 21, 1838, as the Will demands that the “CHILDREN of my daughter Terza” be granted 1/10 of Ballard’s Estate.

3. Mahala’s husband, Douglas Graham, has some serious problems with handling or spending money, as John Ballard clearly wants the inheritance to be set up as air-tightly as possible to keep him from getting his hands on it. Do we know if this Graham is related to his wife (Nancy Graham Ballard)?

4. Not sure if this was common practice of the day, but note that John Ballard has appointed four “trusty friends” strictly as third-party executors, and not his eldest son(s).

5. Given the unique names of the two final daughters, no mention of a wife/girlfriend/mistress as having any rights to his property, and given the location, size of plantation, and time in history, could we go out on a limb to imagine that these two daughters might be from relationship(s) with slave(s)? While not politically correct today to mention, I think that we have to be open to the idea that these covert practices did happen during this period in history, as since determined with Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings. If so, John Ballard could have made a legal provision to be sure that the women were cared for as equally as his sons, thus giving us some insight to the nature of his character. It’s just a thought for now — for as you mention, much more research is definitely needed, but fascinating all the same. 🙂

I have not tried to analyze that will or take it down any further. Glancing at the familysearch wiki for Union County, which was formed from District 96, it appears there were a distressing number of fires that claimed a number of records. I’m only now getting familiar with North Carolina records and their history; I’m not yet ready to tackle South Carolina.

Regarding the will – 1. I agree; I have no other information handy. I’ll have to check Lynn Miller’s notes. She posted a tree to the Ballard-L list many years ago: http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/read/ballard/1998-02/0888593674 2. Terza, I agree, likely pre-deceased her father. 3. Douglas Graham – I don’t have any other information on the Graham family. 4. Executors – it could be that none of the sons had attained legal age (21 years).
5. Unique names – I had not thought them odd; I had assumed “Terza” was a variation of “Theresa,” but Google revealed an interesting alternative: in Italian, Terza means “born third.” Can’t imagine Italians running around South Carolina in 1838, but still … And looking up “Mahala” on Google, several pages state that it is a Native American word meaning “woman.” A search for “Mahala Family South Carolina” pulled up a fair number of individuals born in the early 19th century with the name. I don’t believe these were slave names. I think they were singled out because of their unique circumstances. An interesting thought, though.